PEMBROKE – Bishop Brady was on the hunt. The Green Giants had scored twice in the last minutes of the third quarter to cut Pembroke Academy’s lead in half, and the Giants were firing for more throughout the fourth.

Brady got off 11 shots in the final 12 minutes. Eight of those shots were on target, but none got past goalie Marcus Bessette. The Pembroke senior finished with 18 saves to lead the Spartans to a 7-5 win yesterday in the season opener for both teams.

“I didn’t really feel the pressure in the fourth; it was more when I made the first save it was like, ‘Oh, I can save all these shots,’ and then I just kept saving ’em,” Bessette said. “It was pretty exciting to make those.”

All those timely stops were the end result of an offseason of work for Bessette. He played summer league, went indoors during the winter, and put in extra hours with new goalie coach Scott Vittner.

“Marcus worked real hard in the offseason and it showed,” Pembroke Coach Tim Vasconcellos said. “He really tracked the ball unbelievably today; he saw it out of the stick really well and that made a big difference.”

“He’s improved so much I can’t even believe it,” said Pembroke midfielder Dan Reeves, who finished with two goals and an assist.

The Giants, who played in Division II last year but have moved down to D-III this season, opened the scoring 1:21 into the game when Ryan Kirk scored on a feed from Carter Lee at the end of a four-shot barrage. Pembroke answered with 9:01 left in the first on a patient man-up score by Ian McFarland (three goals) assisted by Colby Chown (goal, two assists). A long-distance underhand shot from Chown with 3:17 to go in the first gave the Spartans a 2-1 lead they held until the end of the frame.

Brady tied it early in the second when Evan Tyros put home a rebound. Again Pembroke answered with a man-up goal, this time with Reeves creating an easy chance on the doorstep for Alex Allard to make it 3-2 with 6:41 left in the third. Reeves put Pembroke ahead by two goals a few minutes later when a shot fluttered out of his stick and the change of speed fooled Brady goalie Evan Hall (six saves).

“I restrung it last night, so I wasn’t really used to it,” Reeves said. “It’s not the best way to go into a game, but I’m glad it turned out the way it did.”

Brady cut the lead back to one when it scored with just 18 seconds remaining in the first half on another rebound putback, this one from Andrew Chorlian. But Pembroke netted the first three goals of the third quarter (two from McFarland and another change-up score from Reeves) to push the lead to 7-3.

Jon Berry, Brady’s talented midfielder with the cannon shot, finally connected on two long-range bids (both bounce shots) late in the third to pull the Giants back in the game. They pounced on the momentum created by Berry’s goals and produced sustained pressure and possession in the fourth, but too many of Brady’s shots were right at Bessette. Of course, even if the shots were headed for a corner, Bessette was still there to make the save.

“That goalie played lights out,” said Ralph Berry, Jon’s father, who took over as Brady’s head coach after five years as an assistant.

“We really didn’t get out to a jamboree or play a scrimmage or anything like that, so this is really our first time out on the field together,” Berry said. “So keeping that in mind, as frustrating as this is, I’m optimistic. Even the second half was a lot better.”

The Giants might have also thought life would be easy in Division III after their experiences in D-II, but yesterday’s game showed them otherwise.

“In a way it’s kind of good to walk away with this loss, because the kids were so confident coming in,” Berry said. “But now they realize what we have to work on.”

And the Spartans realize their hard work is already paying off.

“It’s an excellent way to start the season and the boys earned it,” Vasconcellos said. “They worked hard in the preseason, even with the inclement weather, and they got after it as soon as we got outside. They had a lot of fun out there today.”

BOYS’ LACROSSE

pINKERTON 18, cONCORD 3

Concord (0-1) started off its season with a loss at Pinkerton on Monday(1-0). Sophomore Tyler Martel scored all three Crimson Tide goals, with two assists coming from Sean Mamos. Defensive midfielder Tommy Skafidas had a strong game, especially in the face-off circle against tough opposition, while sophomore Nick Zavorotny made 10 saves in his first varsity start.

Bow 8, Portsmouth 7, OT

Mike Fanaras scored in overtime, giving the Falcons (1-0) a gutsy first win in their home opener. Portsmouth (0-1) led for most of the game and were up 7-5 with 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Bow was able to tie the game on goals by Devin Calkins and Matt Sanford to send the game into extra time.

Strong defense by the Falcons and a dominant face-off performance by midfielder Riley Keenan (9-of-12 in the circle) allowed Bow to get back into the game. Goalie Travis Beauchain made 11 saves, while Derrick LaBranche, Corey Plumb, Charley Reagan, Tucker Johnson, Alex Rietze and Derek Polish all were solid on the defensive end.

Henry Merrow and Bennett Mosseau scored four goals each to lead the Hawks to an easy win in their opener.

Merrow also added an assist, while Ned Metcalf (three goals, two assists) and Ben Thompson (two goals) also had multiple scores. Austin Cowan added a goal while dishing out three assists, and Robbie Ferguson (assist) and James McCluskey also scored. Matt French made four saves in net.

David West scored both goals for the Pride (0-1).

GIRLS’ LACROSSE

Pinkerton 18, Concord 6

The Crimson Tide (0-1) opened up its season with a road defeat to Pinkerton (1-0). The Astros jumped out to an 11-2 lead at halftime. Adelaide Symmes and Grace Orzechowski each had two goals for Concord, while midfielder Mary Annon and defender Bella Rubin played well.

BOYS’ TENNIS

Bow 9, Kearsarge 0

Zach Zbehlik, Evan Maccani and Arun Luckoor had convincing singles victories to lead the Falcons (3-0) to a road win over the Cougars (0-3).

Zbehlik and Luckoor teamed to win, 8-1, at No. 1 doubles, while Bradley and Jacob Huppe won, 8-1, at second doubles and Ben Maurer and Louis Miyara teamed to top Jack van Etten and Sam Bourcier, 8-3, at third doubles.

BOYS’ TRACK AND FIELD

Londonderry 77, Concord 68

The Crimson Tide got wins in eight events from four different athletes, but came up short in the final event when the Lancers took the 4x400 relay.

B.J. Smith won the 1,600 (4:36), 800 (2:07) and 3,200 (10:36), while Harry Gunn (discus, 119-1; javelin, 134-1) and George Feliz (300 hurdles, 46.9; 110 hurdles, 16.0) both finished first in a pair of events. Leo Sudieh won the 100 in 12.1 seconds.

Coe-Brown second

The Bears wound up with 30 points to just edge out Windham (29), but finishing well short of host Portsmouth (92).

Coe-Brown’s Jeremy Brassard took first in the 800 and was on the first-place 4x400 relay team along with Kyle Noel, Anthony Toscano and Stephen Munroe, who was also second in the 400. The 4x100 team of Justin Demers, Toscano, Jake Habets and David Jenkins finished first as well. Noah Macri had a first-place result in the pole vault for the Bears, while Lucas Fisher and Jared Nelson took second and third, respectively, in the 1,600.

John Stark third

Dan Caterino won the shot put to help lead the Generals to 38 points and a third-place finish behind Souhegan (101) and Trinity (64) and ahead of Hanover (35).

Caterino had a throw of 38 feet in the shot put, and he was also second in the high jump at 5-8. Joe Nelson was third in the 100 (11.9) and discus (102-10) and fifth in the javelin (116-4), while Dylan Landry was second in the javelin (121-3) and fifth in the long jump (16-4). The 4x100 team of Caleb Drury, Pat Morin, Caterino and Nelson was second at 47.2.

MV 76, LEBANON 69

The MV boys went to Lebanon and topped the Raiders in a dual meet. Event-winners for the Pride were Brendan Polichronopoulos (first in 400, time of 54.3 seconds), Keegan Hanks (300 hurdles, 46.24) and John Lindonen (javelin). The 4x100 (Lindonen, Polichronopoulos, Mitch Denault, Andrew Alicea) and 4x400 (Hanks, Polichronopoulos, Carter Saltmarsh, Bibek Thapa) relays both finished in first, with times of 47.54 and 3:40.6, respectively.

The Bears swept the top three spots in five different events as they piled up 83 points to beat out host Portsmouth (60) and Windham (eight).

Sprinters Jelesa Nelson, Lauren Montgomery and Samantha Toscano finished 1-2-3 in the 100. Distance runners Liz Danis, Brooke Laskowsky and Meg Scannell took the top spots in the 1,600. Hurdlers Katelyn Terry, Sarah Curtin and Christen Gallant swept the 300 hurdles. And throwers Alley Savioli, Megan Rouillard and Sam Donohue captured top honors in the shot put, with Donohue, Roulliard and Katie Tomaszewski sweeping the discus. Hannah Parker added a win in the 800 and was part of the winning 4x400 relay team with Terry, Mary Fowler and Kayla Roberts. The 4x100 team of Nelson, Toscano, Montgomery and Ariel Clachar also finished first.

John Stark fourth

Megan Laramee finished second in the discus to lead the way for John Stark, which totaled 10 points to finish behind Souhegan (120), Hanover (87) and Trinity (32).

Laramee had a throw of 27-3, while Julia Vivilecchia and Samantha Winn were third and fifth, respectively, in the discus. The 4x400 team of Sarah Clements, Madeline Ishak, Laramee and Brianna LeGrand was third.

LEBANON 68, MV 66

The Pride had multiple event-winners but lost a dual meet to Lebanon by just two points. First-place finishers for MV were Nancy Taban (first in 100, 13.54 seconds), Meredith Ramsey (200, 27.11), Heidi Gooch (400, 1:07.85) and Julianna Adejuyigbe (shot put). Taban also placed second in the 200 (28.52), while Morgan Walton was second in the 100 and 300 hurdles (19.35 and 53.72). The Pride relays also finished on top. In the 4x100, Ramsey, Taban, Walton and Mikayla Godfrey raced to first place in 54.14 seconds, while the 4x400 team of Erin Bresslin, Taban, Walton and Gooch took first in 4:57.26.

Other pointscorers for the Pride were Randee Tatham (second in 400, 1:09.3), Cassie Owens (second in 1600, 6:35.38) and Alycia Daniels (third in 100 hurdles, 21.58).

Bow first, hopkinton second

Taylor Morrison notched wins in the 100 and 200 to help Bow to 147 points and first place over Hopkinton (132), Kearsarge (94), Sunapee (45) and Newport (41).

Morrison’s times were 12.56 in the 100 and 27.43 in the 200, and she was joined in first by Brooke Fortin (400, 1:05.09), Katrina Weisner (3,200, 12:58.8), Maggie Jensen (triple jump, 27-6) and Suzie Barry (shot put, 33-4). Second went to Fortin (100), Jensen (high jump), Hollie Breton (discus) and Rachel Koornneef (shot put), while Sarah Lane (1,600), Jensen (300 hurdles), Barry (javelin) and Sarah Bailey (shot put) were third.